Despite the horror, Fadel Abdul Ghany, founder and director of SNHR, believes acts like Sunnis protecting Alawis from the massacres are a glimmer of hope for Syria’s future.
“There was a lot of local reconciliation between Sunnis and Alawis,” he said. “Sunnis protected Alawis and Alawis protected Sunnis. On the social level, there is this coherence. They are friends living shoulder by shoulder.”
Abdul Ghany said reconciliation will require acknowledgements from both sides regarding their suffering over the past few years, and much of this work will fall within the hands of the state.
“The state should take care of all its citizens, regardless of their religion or sect,” he said.
“If the state took these initiatives with investigations, redressing, acknowledgement, apology, holding accountable those who committed violations, I think we would be moving in the right direction.”
